Imagine being torn from your weeping family as a result of ethnic warfare… forced
to walk hundreds of miles until you reach the sea on the West African
side of the Atlantic Ocean. You are stripped of your name, your identity,
of every right a human being deserves. The European ship that you are
forced to board, is headed across the Atlantic to Caribbean and South
American plantations, a voyage through the awful “middle passage”. A multitude
of black people of every description chained together, with scarcely room
to turn, traveling for months, seasick, surrounded by the filth of vomit-filled
tubs, into which children often fell, some suffocating. The shrieks of
the women, and the groans of the dying renders the whole scene of horror
almost inconceivable. Death and disease are all around and only one in
six will survive this journey and the brutal, backbreaking labour that
follows…

The transatlantic slave trade persisted for four centuries.

Slavery and the slave trade are among the worst violations of human rights
in the history of humanity. The transatlantic slave trade was unique within
the entire history of slavery due to its duration (four hundred years),
its scale (approximately 17 million people excluding those who died during
transport) and the legitimization accorded to it, including under laws of
the time.

The transatlantic slave trade constituted the biggest deportation in history
and is often referred to as the first example of globalization. Lasting
from the 16th century to the 19th century, it involved several regions and
continents: Africa, North and South America, Europe and the Caribbean and
resulted in the sale and exploitation of millions of Africans by Europeans.

The “triangular trade”

Ships carrying trading goods such as guns, alcohol and horses left European
ports headed for West Africa, where they would exchange these items for
enslaved Africans. The slaves had either been captured in wars or were victims
of a thriving local business in the capture and sale of slaves.

Ships heavily overloaded with African slaves would then set out across
the “Middle Passage” to American and European colonies in the Caribbean
and South America. To transport the maximum number of slaves the ship’s
steerage was often removed. It is estimated that one in six slaves died
on this journey due to the cramped, unsanitary conditions. On ships where
disease or rebellion occurred, this toll could rise to more than one in
two.

After the surviving slaves were sold, the ships returned to Europe carrying
goods produced with slave labour such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, rum and
coffee.

Justifying a System of Slavery

The transatlantic slave trade was a comprehensive and large scale economic
system. The main trading countries - Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England
and France – were able to make a significant profit on each leg of the triangular
journey and many European cities flourished courtesy of the profits from
agricultural industries built and sustained literally on the “backs” of
African slaves.

The practice of slavery was often justified on philanthropic or religious
grounds. It was even codified under law, in the notorious “Code Noir” of
1685. This French law set out the rights and duties of masters and slaves
in the colonies of the Americas and stated that “We declare slaves as movable
property”. It established a system of harsh discipline including flogging
and branding for minor crimes however it was also portrayed as a “benefit”
to slaves against abuses by their masters and included the provision of
religious holidays, enforced Catholic worship, tolerance of intermarriages
and advocacy for the preservation of families.

Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

By the late 18th century, moral and political opposition to the slave trade
was growing in Britain and the US, as well as in other parts of Europe.
Groups such as the Quakers in North America and the Society for the Extinction
of the Slave Trade in Britain were instrumental in raising public awareness
of the slave trade through public petitions, boycott campaigns and the dissemination
of materials describing and sometimes illustrating the living conditions
of slaves onboard the trade ships or working on the plantations.

Slaves also rose up against their subjugation, most notably in Haiti in
the Revolution of 1791 to 1804. This single event marked a significant turning
point for the slave trade as the colonial powers began to recognise the
political and military risks of such uprisings. This factor, combined with
the growing voices of the abolitionist movement and the changing economic
conditions that had reduced the economic significance of some European colonies,
signaled the beginning of the end of the transatlantic trade.

Two hundred years ago in early March of 1807, the United States’ President,
Thomas Jefferson, signed legislation abolishing the slave trade. Later that
same month, the British Parliament, led by the efforts of abolitionists
William Wilberforce, the Reverend James Ramsay and John Wesley, banned the
slave trade throughout the British Empire. The tide had turned.

In subsequent years other European countries followed suit with laws prohibiting
slavery; however it was not until 80 years later that the transatlantic
slave trade was finally extinguished, with Cuba and Brazil abolishing it
in 1886 and 1888 respectively.

Legacy

The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is the subject of much debate.
There can be no doubt that it resulted in the destruction of a significant
portion of the language, culture and religion of millions of enslaved Africans.
The removal of such large numbers of people from Africa disrupted the African
economy and is believed by some scholars to have permanently disadvantaged
Africa compared to other parts of the world. It can also be argued that
slavery redefined Africans to the world, leaving a legacy of racism and
stereotyping of Africans as inferior.

Acknowledging the Tragedy, Honoring the Victims

On 28 November 2006, the UN General Assembly designated 25 March 2007 as
the International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-Hundredth
Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Recognizing
the ever lasting effect of slavery in the modern world, Member States acknowledged
that slavery was at the heart of “profound social and economic inequality,
hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice, which continue to affect people of
African descent today.”

The purpose of this Day is to honour the memory of those who died as a
result of slavery, including through exposure to the horrors of the middle
passage and in the fight for freedom from enslavement. It also aims to decrease
the “knowledge gap” that exists today with regard to the consequences created
by the slave trade and slavery.